Kid's Picks

New and recommended books for children.

Picture books

Image by: Rachel Kean

Mister Bud Wears the Cone Carter Goodrich
Poor Mister Bud has a sore on his leg and must wear a cone on his head to stop him licking it. For a short time his friend Zorro tries unsuccessfully to help him remove it, though he eventually gives up and tries to  takes advantage of the situation. These cute little dogs have big personalities and the writer manages to make an ordinary day in the life of two dogs into an amusing and humorous tale. This is a really entertaining story.

Image by: Rachel Kean

The Fairies and the Cloakmaker Chris Gurney
This is an old story retold with a distinctive New Zealand flavour.
Christmas is just around the corner and hard-working Kahu the cloakmaker and his wife are struggling to make ends meet. One morning Kahu awakes to find that the half-finished cloak he was working on has been completed. He can’t believe his eyes. Night after night this keeps happening until finally the couple discover that patu paiarehe (fairies) are doing their work for them. Great illustrations accompany this animated story making it fun to read and entertaining to listen to.

7- 9 years

Image by: Rachel Kean

The Funny Life of Teachers James Campbell
This is a really amusing book about what teachers do when they’re not in the classroom. It is full of entertaining facts (both true and not so true) that will have you laughing out loud. This is a fun and interactive story packed with cartoons and interesting information. The reader even gets to decide which page they start on and where they go from there.

Image by: Rachel Kean

The Dragon in the Library Louie Stowell
Kit isn’t into reading at all. However, when her best friends force her into their local library, she makes an amazing revelation. She finds out that she is actually a wizard! She also discovers that a dragon lives in the library. When an evil businessman threatens the magic there, Kit, with her newfound knowledge and a small team of helpers, is well placed to save the library and even the world.

10+ years

Image by: Rachel Kean

Spycraft Brian Falkner
This story is set in Germany during World War 2.  Fifteen-year-old Joe is a New Zealander who has been recruited to work for MI5 as a spy and his goal is to infiltrate the Nazi Youth movement. This exciting and suspenseful adventure story is one you won’t want to miss. It is the second in the Katipo Joe series and was written by an award-winning New Zealand author. Highly recommended.

Image by: Rachel Kean

The Uprising: The Mapmakers in Cruxcia Eirlys Hunter
The Santander children are used to adventures and are pretty good at coping with difficult situations too. In this novel, following on from The Mapmakers Race, they have been reunited with their mother and have travelled to a land unknown in search of their father.   He has been missing for a very long time. The opening pages see them travelling on a dirigible  and this sets the tone for the rest of the story, an exciting adventure set in exotic places. There’s a hint of danger in the air and the children are very pleased to have their mother back in charge as they negotiate  unsafe environments to get closer to their  father. This is a book that once started is difficult to put down.